Lori

From your list, Kelly -- I seem to recall Emmitt Smith missing a couple of regular-season games (including one against the Bills) due to a holdout, and didn't Walter Jones do the same thing for three or four training camps in a row? Not sure if Parker was involved in either case, but if so, it definitely reinforces the trend scribo is suggesting.

Interesting idea. (And I'm all for sending more traffic toward Pollock's stories, of course ... )

Thanks to both you and SDS for the advice ... and I miss reading about the boy. That's one TBD blog I wish we still had ...

Give Tom his pages in black and white, then design the site for the rest of us ... And yes, I approve of "clean and tasteful."

Hmm. Yeah, the afternoon session was supposed to begin at 2:15. Perhaps he's still enjoying "lunch" ...

Crikey, he's getting big. I remember when ... Yeah, that is slow. IIRC, even my brother's old, old A-1s took five or six/sec with the autowinder. (Of course, that battery pack also made the camera weigh ten pounds, or at least it seemed like it at the time.) I just stopped by the office to talk to our photog, and I think she said she was looking at a 20D online last night. I warned her about Pete's experience ...

This must be the piece he's referring to: http://www.suntimes.com/sports/mariotti/10...i072408.article Did you know ... on one of his rare appearances in a Chicago-area press box earlier this summer, Mariotti called security because one of his colleagues wanted to discuss a recent column he'd written? He does not play well with others ... Sun-Times colleagues go after Jay Mariotti Deadspin: Jay Mariotti needs protection from that inquisitive Rick Telander Telander might be older, but he also played college football. I know who my money's on.

(salivating) Tell me more. If I'm going to be shooting anything for the new gig, it'll be sports-related ...

Great. So you've been drinking, AND you're sleep-deprived? And we're supposed to trust you? Kidding. Fine job, my good man.

Some nice shots there. Damn, that was a chilly night. (Thanks again for letting me use your other ticket -- I owe you one.) My brother told me he was talking to Canon tech support, and they told him that the XTi doesn't have Live View? Not sure I could dig that, since the viewfinder is smaller than the 35mm SLRs we have ... Think I need to look at them side-by-side before I make a decision.

Everyone thinks of Sam Mills from that D (myself included), but when the 'best LBs by team' thread hit the Wall a couple of weeks ago, R. Rich said putting Jackson ahead of Mills was a good call. And when Rich talks 'backers, I pay attention.

You mean the one mentioned here? http://www.stadiumwall.com/index.php?showtopic=68547 Or maybe here? http://www.stadiumwall.com/index.php?showtopic=68559

Got an XSi, boss? I'm thinking about one, although I'll (hopefully) be spending most of my time writing, not shooting. Almost got the XTi last year -- in fact, I think it's still on my Amazon wish list. The XSi sounds like a significant upgrade, and our staff photog is considering the same rig. (Think she has an older 20D now? I could be wrong about that, though.)

Can't disagree with that. ... and sorry for the snark ...

"You say that Davis wouldn't have been anything without Wilson, but that's hogwash." The Raiders wouldn't have !@#$ing EXISTED past 1965 without Wilson. You also didn't answer my question, but that's not a surprise. Carry on ...

Why would I compare him to players at different positions? I could insert Thurman Thomas' name against any of those four players and come up with the same result.

http://photo.net/canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/00Kc1U http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Lenses_N_More

Really? Name one. Even 365 pays their writers a pittance (which is how, I suspect, they managed to gain a foothold here. Not my idea ...)

Sign me up! Oh, um, wait -- they don't pay for these articles? Never mind ...

All right, let's do just that. The dates represent their period of ownership, not total service to the franchise: Charles Bidwill - Chicago Cardinals, 1933-47 The Cardinals were permanent cellar dwellers when the senior Bidwill owned them, with only two above-.500 records in 14 seasons. They finally broke through in the 1947 season, winning their only NFL championship eight months after Bidwill died. Claim to fame? He bailed out George Halas in 1932. Al Davis - Oakland/LA/Oakland Raiders, 1966 - present He's in on the basis of forcing the AFL-NFL merger. He wouldn't have had a team to do it with if not for Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. George Halas - Decatur Staleys/Chicago Staleys/ Chicago Bears, 1920-1983 No argument with this one. Lamar Hunt - Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs, 1959-2006 Or this one. Curly Lambeau - Green Bay Packers, 1919-1949 Tim Mara - New York Giants, 1925-1959 Wellington Mara - New York Giants, 1959-2005 Or these three. George Preston Marshall - Boston Braves/Boston Redskins/Washington Redskins, 1932-69 Provided several leaguewide innovations, and won two NFL championships. Also believed to be one of the chief movers behind locking black players out of the league for the better part of two decades, he finally integrated his team only after the federal government threatened to deny them the use of D.C. Stadium. "We'll start signing Negroes," Marshall said, "when the Harlem Globetrotters start signing whites." One of the most famous lines in sports writing was penned by the Post's Shirley Povich after Cleveland drubbed Washington in a 1960 game. Povich wrote, "Jim Brown, born ineligible to play for the Redskins, integrated their end zone three times yesterday." Dan Reeves - Cleveland/Los Angeles Rams, 1941-1971 Moved the Rams to the West Coast, and was the first owner to employ a scouting staff. In 1946, he signed Kenny Washington, who became the first black player in the league since 1932. That alone should have been enough to get him into the Hall. Art Rooney - Pittsburgh Pirates/Steelers, 1933-1988 Dan Rooney - Pittsburgh Steelers, 1955-present Tough to remember that the Steelers were a laughingstock before they hired Chuck Noll, no? Comparing Wilson to Halas, Mara, and Lambeau is like stacking every future middle linebacker up against Dick Butkus -- held to that standard, NOBODY would get in. Is it your contention that no current owner deserves to be enshrined? Because Wilson has made it further than any of them in recent years' balloting.

You know, it would help me understand your thought better if you qualified "notches" with "up" or "down" ... Tim Graham's a good writer, whether he works for the Evil Empire or not. Andre has competition at WR, and it will only get more difficult for him as the West Coast Offense players -- and their inflated stats -- become eligible. Tasker? There's no history with which to compare him. Before he came along, nobody ever tried some of the things he did. As others have noted, the league made up new rules to stop him, and they created a position for him in the Pro Bowl. HOF voter Ira Miller uses this benchmark to judge prospective enshrinees: can you write the history of the game without him? In Tasker's case, the answer is no. That should be all anyone needs to cast a ballot in his favor.

Jeez, that would stink to have to buy a ticket to a game against the SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS to get one to watch the Bears. Must be they figure they'd have 50,000 Bears fans otherwise, since that's what happened with the Steelers and Packers games last year.

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/afceast/0-1-15/...-in-Canton.html I'd vote yes, but I think it will be tough for him to get in. Your thoughts?

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And your opinion is fine, my friend. I just take them at face value -- a throwaway hitting the top points for each team and quickly moving on. Could I do without the snark regarding the allegedly "disgruntled" Losman? Yeah, probably, but it is the way of the (sports writing) world these days.